Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The placement and retention of a body fluid
drain in and on a patient's body is a continuing medical
problem. Various devices have been provided to retain
and secure a drain as it emerges from a surgically
provided or natural body cavity that acts as a drainage
site in a patient's body, but many surgeons find these
devices unsatisfactory. Hence, various expedients are
employed, such as, simply taping the drain to the body
surface where it emerges.
Problems with drains include their tendency
to pull out of the drainage site because, for example,
of movement of the patient. Additionally, drains may
become kinked or pinched and, therefore, blocked, due
to such movement, particularly if the patient rolls
over in bed and lies on the drain. Furthermore, the
drain is apt to pop out of the drainage site if suction
is employed. These problems inherent in the use of any
drainage tube are aggravated by the use o. the new
silicone-type tubes, which are softer and smoother than
more conventional plastic drain tubes.
It is desirable to be able to secure a body
fluid drain to the patient so that the drain may first
emerge from the body cavity relatively perpendicularly
to the body surface, if necessary, and then be curved
over into an aspect parallel with the body surface.
This minimizes patient discomfort, allows freedom of
movement, prevents the drain from being pinched or
kinked and blocked, and, at the same time, aids in
securely retaining the drain at the drainage site.
Because drains may have various cross-sections, for
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example, round or flat, retention devices should accommodate
various shapes. Finally, a retention device should
perform its functions efficiently and be foolproof and
inexpensive.
Some existing retention devices require
threading the drain through the device before placing
the drain in the drainage site. However, a doctor
should be able to freely place a drain in the drainage
site and position it on the body without the initial
encumbrance of a retention device on the drain. Also,
it is desirable that the retention device used be able
to be attached to the drain without threading the drain
from an end through the device.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A retention clip satisfying these require-
ments has now been developed. The retention clip has
an upper portion that contains a longitudinal retention
slot which allows a drain that has been placed in the
body to be inserted sideways into the clip. The top
and bottom walls of the slot may be flat, although not
necessarily parallel. Preferably, at least the outer
end of the upper portion and its retention slot are
substantially parallel to the base portion, and, preferably,
the upper portion and its slot are arcuately formed.
This prevents crimping of the drain, which may be
exiting the body perpendicularly, and allows the drain
to lie against and be taped to the body surface close
to the point at which the drain emerges from the body.
The upper portion at its inner end is attached
to a body-abutting base portion, which is preferably
flexible and resilient so as to conform readily to the
body surface at the drainage site. The clip may be
secured in place by placing adhesive tape over the base
portion and onto the adjacent body surface. In some
cases it may be desirable to secure the base by sutures
through it into the body tissue. The clip may be made
inexpensively as an integrally molded item (for example,
by injection molding) of a se~i-resilient material,
such as, polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order to illustrate various embodiments of
the invention, the following drawings are provided in
which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view, showing one form
of the retention clip into which a flat drain has been
inserted and secured after placement in a drainage
site;
Fig. 2 is a side view of the clip of Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along
line A-A in Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along
line B-B in Fig. 2;
Fig. S is a top view of the clip and drain
shown in Fig. l;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the preferred
device of the present invention;
Fig. 7 is a side view of the clip of Fig. 6;
Fig. 8 shows an end view of the retention
clip of Fig. 6 from the left side of Fig. 7;
Fig. 9 is a top view of the device of Fig. 6;
; and
Fig. 10 is a bottom view of the device of
Fig. 6.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
.
The upper portion of the new retention clip
should be rigid enough so that if the patient lies on
the clip, the drain is not kinked or crushed. The base
of the clip should be deformable enough so that it will
readily conform to the pa~ient's body, and if the clip
is to be sutured to the patient, the base should be
sufficiently penetrable. If the clip is to be adhesively
secured (e.g., taped) to the patient, the base of the
clip preferably should be thin. The two portions of
the clip (upper and base) may be made separately and of
different materials and then joined, or the clip may be
made of a single material at one time, as by injection
molding. The material, preferably, should have sufficient
tack to aid in holding the drain within the slot. A
semi-resilient material, for example, polyvinyl chloride,
is preferred.
One form of the retention clip is shown at 1
in Figs. 1 through 5. The clip includes upper drain
retention portion 2 and body-abutting base portion 4.
Upper portion 2 has slot 6 extending longitudinally
from inner end 8 of upper portion 2 to outer end 10 of
upper portion 2.
Interior 12 of slot 6 is arranged to receive
and hold flat drain 14. (The internal cross-section of
the upper portion of the clip may be varied to accom-
modate round drains or drains of other cross-sections.)
Usually, the drain is first positioned in body cavity 16
at drainage site 18 and then inserted sideways into slot 6;
however, the clip may be placed on the drain before the
drain is positioned in the body.
.
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114;V827
Base 4 is secured to body surface 20 of the
patient at drainage site 18 by adhesive tape 22, and
the clip will retain drain 14 substantially in the
desired, predetermined position. Alternatively, sutures
may be used instead of tape because they are more
secure.
The end of slot 6 at inner end 8 of upper
portion 2 has an enlargement forming recess 24 in
base 4 to prevent pinching and inadvertent closure of
drain 14. Such pinching might occur because of sideways
movement of the clip caused, for example, by the patient
rolling on it or moving about Base 4 has upper part 4a,
which provides the enlargement and recess 24, and lower
flat portions 4b, which lie on body surface 20.
As best seen in Fig. 1, upper portion 2,
including slot 6, extends arcuately away from base 4,
and the segment of upper portion 2 nearest outer end 10
is substantially parallel to base flange 4 so that ~: :
drain 14 exits the clip substantially parallel and
close to body surface 20. Thus, the clip turns'drain 14
from a direction extending substantially perpendicular
to outer surface 20 to a direction substantially parallel
to outer surface 20. This allows the drain to be
- secured to the body close to where it exits the body to
prevent movement of the drain~and provide for patient
comfort.
The inner surface of slot 6 is proportioned
to fit snugly against drain 14 so as to retain drain 14
firmly in a relatively longitudinal direction after the
clip is slid onto the drain. Internal ribs (not shown)
along the inner surface of slot 6 may also be provided
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to aid in holding the drain firmly. Additional tape 26
or a metal clip or sutures may also be used to secure
the drain to the clip. (Sutures have the advantage of
allowing the surgeon to adjust the compression on the
drain because of the resiliency of the clip.) As noted
above, if the upper portion is of a material having
sufficient tack, this will aid in retaining the drain
within the clip. PVC is such a material.
Figs. 6 to 10 show preferred retention clip 101,
essentially in proportion. It comprises upper portion 102
and body abutting base portion 104 having internal
arcuately formed slot 106. Base 104 substantially
surrounds inner end 110 of upper portion 102 and has
inwardly extending opening 112 extending to slot 106 to
allow a drain (not shown) to be inserted sideways
through opening 112 and into slot 106. Recess 124
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prevents the drain from being pinched at the drainage
site. A typical clip 101 has a base 104 diameter of
1.5 inches.
Variations in and modifications to the inven-
tion will be apparent to one skilled in the art. The
claims are intended to cover all such modifications and
variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of
the invention.
